Mallard to visit Germany

I'd be over joyed at still be alive then, never mind Mallard being in steam!!

 

If it was to happen I will remind you of my post . . . There are a number of RoRo ships to have had fires in recent years - enough to reduce your 1 in 100 million by quite a margin . . .

I do not agree with a national treasure being subjected to this level of risk, sorry but that's my view. Moving a locomotive by road does not introduce such a high level of risk and your comparison is is flawed as a result of this.

 

If it burns we'll just rebuild it like BR did in the 60s, job done!

I'm joking of course. Shildon might go up in flames tomorrow, it's happened to Railway Museums before. It might be in a serious road accident whilst on the low loader getting it to the ferry, just like it could be whilst on a low loader moving it from one place inside Britain to another. Heck if the NatPres consensus was followed (a consensus I don't ascribe to), and the loco was steamed, it could be in a rail accident. They still happen, frequently.

You can't eliminate the chance of risk. Sending it to Germany and back is a risk, of course, but so is moving it inside this country. And there is still risk even when it is sat motionless in Shildon or York - fire, etc.

 

I do despair at times...

We could have lost 3440, Cornwall and Boxhill back in 1985, and Rocket has become quite the globetrotter. 563 didn't get seasick last month. I understand your concern, but there is a measured risk in even getting up in the morning...especially when you work for the NRM!

 

While we're scaremongering, what if the Great Hall's roof collapses, what if a boiler explodes, there are risks in every aspect of life.

 

But why does it need to go to Germany anyway?

From professional contact with Germans (mainly Engineers) I can assure you that they appear to have little interest in things that are not German.

Unless the NRM can show that there is a positive benefit to themselves as The National Railway Museum then please would Anthony be so kind as to explain why money is being wasted on this during a recession? N.B. man hours I count as being a direct cost.

 

I have met a number of German enthusiasts who are interested in steam from around the world so I suspect that unlike your professional contacts, they will be most interested to see Mallard.

 

There is a further (albeit tenuous) connection with Germany and A4's. Remember that Gresley was impressed with the 'Flying Hamburger' but the German engineers couldn't give him the projected performance he wanted for the ECML - so he rolled up his sleeves and, together with his design team produced the A4 and 'Silver Jubilee' train - the rest, as they say is history. So in a roundabout way, you could say the A4 was partly inspired by German engineering (or lack of it).

 

Don't worry, Jamie, "Channel" and one or two other alarmist old codgers don't constitute a consensus ;-) The folks I've chatted to about Mallard's visit are all in favour. The most common response has been "That's great! What's coming here next year in return?" I think we'd all love to see the "05" if there was a way to get it to York or Shildon.

 

It doesn't "need" to go to Germany.

It has been requested to visit for a museum display, just as UK institutions borrow artefacts from Japan, the USA etc for display in art galleries and museums all over the country.

Thus the DB Museum are picking up the bill for it and no public money is being "wasted" as you suggest.

 

I absolutely agree,
Germans in some countries have more interest in international steam than we do.
Literally thousands of germans pass the border to events in Hungary, Czech and Poland for steam each year..
how many brits cross the border to Ireland, Denmark and France by comparison ?

I actually think it's Brit's who are quite xenophobic when it comes to steam, maybe even some posters in this thread are demonstrating this, which is a shame as overseas steam in many respects has a lot to offer, different to that here.... remember the designers of our great ones learned much from their trips overseas.

Mallard in Germany will probably attract a far larger crowd than if the 05 came here.

Personally I'm hoping NRM pull a rabbit from a hat and bring my avatar to the NRM event next year, but I can dream... a P8 might be nice.. it could be fitted to British loading gauge to.

 

....And when you're married to it!....well, sort of.

 

I was referring to the consensus that it would seem a majority on here would like to see Mallard steam, and am heartily glad that we're generally in favour of the visit. And yes, I'd love to see the 05 here!

 

Less of the old please.

 

Risks? Never mind the boat trip, what about the DB Museum in Nürnberg? Look for 17 October 2005

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Transport_Museum

But I'm sure they've installed state of the art sprinklers since then, Made in Germany of course.

 

Not the same building - the 2005 fire was an original roundhouse, and was caused by repairs to the timber roof. Thankfully, railway preservation has suffered nothing on that scale in the UK but individual coaches have been lost in not dis-similar circumstances and the Cutty Sark fire could be said to have parallels too.

No steam loco were permanently lost, although the difficulty in raising funds to repair what were all, I believe, "runners" (why they were in that building and not the main museum) would mean, if Germany had a "National Preservation Forum" populated by UK style enthusiasts, they would probably be asking why money was being wasted bringing 4468 to Germany instead of funding repairs to 01 150 or 23 105 (the West German Evening Star)!

05 001 lives, alongside various other steam, diesel and electric locos, in a modern, steel building similar to Oxenhope Museum shed (and probably about the same size albeit just two road).

I have some pictures somewhere taken about this time last year which I'll try to dig out and post.

Steven

 

23 105 has been taken on board by a preservation group and is being restored on behalf of DB with some additional funding.
The V200 was, imho a bigger loss, steam parts are easier to come by, restore, than diesel and their electrical equipment.

BR23's are excellant locomotives, the BR35 and the PKP ol49 owe their history to this class.

 

Way back in post #78, ADB968008 asked "Since 1945 what was the last Locomotive sunk"?

Well according to an article in the September 2007 Railway Magazine, June 7th 1991, the Braut Team sank in the Indian ocean with 2-8-2 SY1698M en-route China to the U.S.A.

 

An interesting fact. Thanks for sharing. Recently a class 70 was dropped at Newport whilst unloading from a ship also.

 

And some 400 class 66 diesels made it across the Atlantic and through Newport without any problems I'm aware of.